The Office of Vital Statistics (Ufficio di Stato Civile) maintains
records of important events (birth, marriage, divorce, death, etc.) of
Italian citizens and their relatives who are residents of the states of
Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky or Tennessee. These residents are required
to inform the Consulate of Italy in Detroit of such events.

Italian citizens are required to submit the following U.S. documentation
of important events:

Certificate of Live Birth;

Marriage;

Death certificate.

All these documents, issued by U.S.
authorities, are required whenever registering with the City Hall (Comune)
where the head of the family (Capofamiglia) last resided.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Prior to submitting certificates, carefully check in particular:
names, dates and places of birth. Indicate middle names only if they already
appear in Italian registry records. In the event of an error, request that
the issuing office make corrections prior to authenticating the certificate.

Births, marriages, or deaths occurring
outside of Italy must be recorded in the last city or town of residence
(Comune di ultima residenza) in order to be acknowledged. Approximately two
months are needed for this process.

Verify with the Consulate that family records (births, marriages,
divorces, deaths) are kept current.

1)
Such documents must always be obtained from the U.S. authorities in "long
form" and must bear a "live" or "ink" signature where required. Following is
a list of Vital Records Offices in the area of jurisdiction of this
Consulate:

2)
Said documents must then be submitted to this Consulate bearing the
APOSTILLE, issued by the Secretary of State of the state that has issued the
certificate. The Apostille is an international method of authentication
which renders a foreign document valid in Italy.

Following are the addresses of the
appropriate Secretaries of State in our jurisdiction:

IN MICHIGAN:(richiesta per posta)
Michigan Dept. Secretary of State
Office of the Great Seal
7064 Crowner Blvd.
Lansing, MI. 48918-1750
Tel. (517) 373-2531
Home page:
http://www.sos.state.mi.us/greatse/index.html*
please note that this Secretary of State does not place Apostilles on
certificates issued over one year ago.

Said documents must be submitted to this
Consulate, who will in turn legalize the
translations(please contact us
to obtain current fees) and transmit them to the appropriate City Hall in
Italy.

MARRIAGE BANNS

The Consulate must publish the
announcement of a marriage when either the bride or the groom is an Italian
citizen, registered with AIRE, resides in the consular jurisdiction, and
when the marriage takes place in Italy.

It is advisable to request publication
several months in advance since the marriage announcement needs also to be
published in Italy.